


Jigsaw families

by laraismyreligion



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, Gangs, arkadia is the sky peoples school, monty/miller may become a thing but i want to see if we meet millers boyfriend on screen first, polis is the grounders school
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-16 01:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5807413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laraismyreligion/pseuds/laraismyreligion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After an attack targets Polis, the grounders are forced to attend Arkadia. But with them comes past lives best left buried for a few at Arkadia and complications no one could have predicted. It's only a matter of time before everything falls apart. Secrets can't stay buried forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fanning the Flames pt 1

Within five minutes of the first wisps of smoke being spotted, every student, teacher, and even the principal was staring out a window. A few students who had been straggling late to class had stepped outside, looking down at the scene unfolding below them. Even as the teachers ordered students to retake their seats, they couldn’t help but try and see for themselves what was going on.

Black smoke was rising towards the sky, stretching towards the hills, the wind bringing it closer the further it rose. 

“Well that can’t be anything good.” Jasper muttered, bouncing slightly as another handful of students joined them on the grass.

“Is it an office building? I mean the building itself would have to be larger than any house for a fire to be visible from here, unless of course it’s spreading but any building worth its safety rating wouldn’t catch that fast. Although that’s assuming there’s no accelerant involved-”

“It’s a school.” Raven cut across Monty. “Polis. It’s small but that’s definitely it.”  
An odd silence fell across the group as people muttered around them. The distant wail of a fire engine rang out, accompanied by the faint flashing blue lights that disappeared behind the slowly growing cloud of smoke.

“I hope everyone’s okay.” Clarke couldn’t help but think of the students, how scared they must be, how many of them must have been in the building. It was only ten o’clock. It would have been full.

“Better them than us.” Murphy muttered but was quickly silenced by Raven elbowing him hard in the ribs. “What the hell! We were all thinking it!”

“No we weren’t, asshole.” Raven said, not taking her eyes off the base of the smoking cloud. She couldn’t get the image of it out of her head, the fire consuming the old building, flames stripping the walls and burning it to a crisp.

A sudden boom echoed from the school causing a thick black smoke to start billowing through the sky and eliciting a few gasps from even more students now gathered outside the school.

“What’s going on down there?” Clarke asked, thinking back to what Monty had said about an accelerant. She looked to him, hoping he was wrong for once. It was just a school.  
Monty met her gaze and shook his head.  
“A gas line, maybe? or some kind of other reasonable explanation for a school exploding.”

“Too small for a bomb,” Octavia continued as Monty trailed off. Clarke couldn’t believe they were all even having this conversation. “but that’s Trigedakru territory. I’d bet my money on it being some kind of attack.”

Monty reached out and gave Ravens hand a small squeeze and she finally tore her eyes away from the fire, giving him a small smile.

“But they’re just kids...” Clarkes words were quiet but everyone heard.

Monty looked over at Nathan who had quietly joined the group. “What a way to start the school year.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to anyone who read this despite the cheesy summary but I didn't want to give too much away ;)  
> If anyone's interested they can find me at laraismyreligion.tumblr.com  
> Next chapter may be posted tonight (depending how fast i type it up).


	2. Fanning the Flames pt 2

Lexa’s heart pounded in her chest. She stood, surrounded by the other students, lining the street. She felt like throwing up. The acrid smell of smoke clogged the air. A mixture of fear, panic and rage filled her.

  
She tried to force herself to calm down but any resolve she could muster was quickly drowned out by the sound of her own ragged breath. People were crowded all around her but not the ones she was searching for. No one died. They had said everyone had evacuated. But what if they hadn’t? Lexa tried to push the thought from her head but the more she tried the more it stuck, fueling her panic.

  
A sudden explosion ripped through the air. Even across the street, the air burned hot. People began to shout. The situation was getting out of control. Lexa knew that she should do something.

  
A hand reached out and pulled Lexa around. The sight of Anya and Lincoln filled her with such a desperate rush of relief that her head spun for a moment.

  
Any words she would have spoken were drowned out by the sirens as two more fire engines pulled up to the school. It didn't matter, she didn't have to say anything. They were safe.

  
“Everyone is to go to the rec center.” Lexa looked beyond Anya and Lincoln to see Gustus, towering above the students. An odd calm swept through her as she saw him. She did't have to deal with this on her own.

  
The teachers were quick to follow Gustus’ order. They began ushering the students along the road toward the rec center.  
Lexa waited until everyone had begun moving, pushing Anya and Lincoln to go ahead. “I’ll catch up.”

  
She said waiting a minute for Gustus to approach her.

“We need to get you home.”

"No," Lexa protested, “I have to go to the rec center, Anya and Lincoln will be waiting.”

“Indra will meet them there. All the parents will be collecting their children from the center.”

Lexa nodded in understanding “But wouldn't it help if we were there too, it doesn't look good if we disappear when our people need us most.”

Gustus began following up at the back of the crowd. “There is no use for us there, parents will have the relief of seeing their children safe. We must wait until that relief fades and anger takes its place. Now is not the time to underestimate peoples ability to act without thinking In response to such an attack.”

The two walked in silence for a moment. When Lexa finally spoke, she had slipped into trigedasleng, something she rarely did outside of their home. Gustus didn't mention it.

“There must be retribution for this. There has never been such a bold attack.” Lexa knew the cry for justice that would come from this, it would not be small or easily answered.

As they got closer to the center, Lexa noticed the streets filling. Lined on either side, Lexa saw Trigedakru members stand silently. She held her head high beside Gustus. The atmosphere was tense, mutterings still rumbling through the children but there was less now. It was safer here.  
Then again, it was supposed to be safe at Polis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Before reaching the center, Gustus and Lexa turned down a street away from the others. They walked in silence. There would be time to talk later. For now Lexa was busy enough with the thoughts in her own head without having to wonder about Gustus' own.

Everyone could have died. The heat and smoke. They had barely gotten out of the building before the whole place was in flames. It had destroyed everything.

Lexa hadn’t even realized they’d reached their house until she stepped through the front door. Gustus went to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a glass of water for Lexa.

  
Indra walked through the still open door, Anya following close behind.

  
“Hey lex-”

  
“Go up and shower.” Indra ordered, not even looking at Anya who glanced quickly from her to Lexa and finally at Gustus. His small nod assured her that it was best to leave it.She ran up the stairs, leaving Lexa downstairs with the two adults.

“People could have died, there are only children there. The school has never been targeted before.” Now at home, it felt more natural to speak trigedasleng with Gustus and Indra, two of the few who were fluent in it.

  
“We were warned. Everyone made it out.” Gustus reminded her, following her lead and replying in trigedasleng.

  
“We shouldn't have had to be warned.” Lexa's voice shook. She took a deep breath but it did nothing to calm the anger filling her. “This isn't supposed to happen.” She finished, storming into the kitchen.

  
“Lexa you’re probably in shock.” Gustus attempted to calm her but she was too emotional for any rational thought now. He knew it would fade but right now she needed to be angry. It was far easier to deal with than to feel the fear that was at its core.

  
“I'm fine Gustus.”

  
“No you're not.” Lexa glared at Indra but the woman's own glare stopped her short. “You cannot face anyone in this state, much less lead them.  
Lexa sunk into one of the kitchen chairs, suddenly exhausted.

  
“I'm sorry.” She apologised to both Indra and Gustus, not looking up at either of them.

  
“Will I tell people they can come here or would you prefer somewhere else?” Indra asked Gustus, moving on from Lexas outburst in an acceptance of her apology.

  
“I think it would be best if we stayed put." He answered. "You should go have a shower and change, you'll feel better without the smell of smoke on your clothes." Lexa nodded, rising to her feet and leaving Indra and Gustus together in the kitchen. Before she reached the stairs, she spotted Lincoln walking up the yard, through the window. She opened the door for him and wasn't surprised by the hug that greeted her.

  
“We’re supposed to be safe there.” Lexa admitted, head resting on Lincolns shoulder.

  
He pulled back and nodded. “I know. It makes everything feel...off.” He suddenly smiled at her. “You reek by the way.”

  
Lexa shoved him softly. “It's not my fault Anya’s taking ages in the shower.”

  
Lincoln glanced up the stairs. "Have you tried flushing the toilet yet? That's what she’ll usually do to me.”

  
“That's just cruel. Your mums inside with Gustus by the way.” Lexa informed him, nodding towards he door as she started climbing the stairs.

  
“Lucky me.” She heard Lincoln mutter as he walked towards the kitchen.

 

 

Despite the wait, Lexa was relieved when her time finally came as Anya left the bathroom and disappeared into her room. The bathroom was still steamy and she had to avoid stepping on the discarded damp towels but there was still plenty of hot water left. She scrubbed her skin and rinsed out her hair again and again, each time feeling just a bit better than the last. Despite the smell of shampoo filling the air and still dripping hair down her back, the gravity of what had been done still stuck to her.

Trigedakru specifically avoided hurting children, their whole history was built around families finding protection together. This attack was personal. There were few places that Lexa felt safe. Even her house never truly felt safe with the occasional police intrusion but Polis was different. At least it was supposed to be.

Lexa changed into fresh clothes, opting for a less comfortable but more formal, button up shirt. There was still work to be done. She searched for the hair dryer, taking longer than usually to realize Anya had taken it.

  
Lexa moved down the hall to Anyas room, knocking on the door before entering.

  
“You look like a drowned rat.” The other girl greeted, moving on the bed so that Lexa could sit beside her. Lexa didn't rise to the comment as she usually would, only sitting down heavily on the bed.

  
“I don't know whats wrong with me.”

“Hey now, you don't really look that bad. With my help you could even end up looking passably human.”

“You and Lincoln are idiots.”

“Wow, something really is wrong with you.” Anya placed her hand over Lexa's own. "It feels pretty shit, doesn't it.”

“I thought I’d lost you two.”

Anya let go of her hand and picked up her discarded hair brush, beginning to brush the younger girls hair. “You can't get rid of us that easy.”  
The older girl flicked on the hair dryer and began running it through Lexa's hair.

It would be easy though. The three of them knew that all too well. Lexa's parents, Anya's sister, Lincoln's dad. No one was really safe. Even though Lexa had once felt safe at Polis, it was not a mistake she would make again. The delusion of safety was almost as bad as that of hope. There was no room for either. Not any more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
That night, the house was buzzing with people coming in and out. The main point of concern was their next move, not enough was know about the culprits but the fact remained that it had been a bold, almost devastating, attack.

  
The police were to start an investigate and Lexa felt an odd twist in her gut as she was told. The thought of them shifting through the remains of the school didn't sit well with her. Lexa was itching to do something. To act. But Gustus had taught her the value of patience, she had seen time and time again the consequence of rash thinking.

Towards the end of the night, the principal of Polis arrived. Gustus had obviously called him and greeted him at the door before bringing him inside to the sitting room where most people were gathered. Although he was not a member of Trigedakru himself, he may as well have been, he had been the principal at Polis for ten years and a teacher there for seven years before that. He always defended the kids against unfair profiling and fought for funding from a council all to happy to leave them with nothing. He understood that their goal was close to his own, ensuring the safety of the children in their care.

  
“I have been organizing placement for the students of Polis. I have already been got in contact with our neighboring school, Arkadia. They have agreed that it is the best place for our students and the principal, a close friend of mine, will help to make the transition as smooth as possible.” Everyone was silent as he spoke, a few latecomers slipping into the room, careful not to interrupt. “It was proposed that the students will start on Wednesday, this way the faculty has time to prepare and adjust. Every student will be assigned to another student in their class so they will not be without support. Thank you all for listening, I will be keeping you updated with any new information and all parents should have my contact information if they feel the need to talk to me directly.”

He spoke with Gustus for a moment before leaving.

  
“It's really over, isn’t it?” Anya said, pulling both Lincoln's and Lexa's attention.

“For now at least. I hate to see him so sad, he doesn't deserve this.” Lincoln said, shaking his head.

“His life was in that school.” Lexa realized. They weren't the only ones that had lost the school.

“Arkdia.” Anya scoffed. “What a ridiculous name.” This caused the other two to laugh.

They quickly stopped though as they drew stares and Gustus reentered the room. He called Lexa over with a wave of his hand. “I think it's time for people to go home, I'd like you to take point on this.”

  
Lexa nodded and cleared her throat, turning to face the people as a hush fell over the room.

  
“All that can be done tonight is done, we will be following up and ensuring the safety of everyone as a top priority.” Lexa had been there through every conversation as new informaion came in but as the fire engines left and arrivals slowed, useful information and suggestions had turned to complaints and repetitious calls for action to be taken. It had been at that point that she had retreated with Anya and Lincoln, her presence no longer necessary. “Spread the news that Arkadia has opened their doors and encourage the attendance of all students. The best thing right now is a sense of normalcy. We avoided great tragedy today but there is still a danger. We must avoid panic. No action is to be taken by any individual but be assure that when the time is right, those responsible will pay. Go home, rest, another meeting will be called when we know more.”

  
“Well said." Gustus murmured, quiet enough for only Lexa to hear. She barely suppressed smile. Instead, attempting to remain as composed as possiple, she moved to the front door to see everyone out. She met both thanks and agreements with small respectable nods as they left.

  
As the last person left, she shut the door, returning to her friends.

  
“Very impressive, Heda.” Anya teased.

Lexa rolled her eyes, throwing a pillow at her before turning to Lincoln. “Would you like to stay here tonight?”

  
He shook his head. “Mum wants me at home, but I'll be next door if you need me.”

  
At his word, Indra entered the room and after a short goodbye, left with her son.

After waving Indra and Lincoln off, Gustus called the girls into the kitchen. Somehow he had found the time to serve up dinner.

  
“Wow, I'd forgotten we hadn't eaten all day.” Ayna said, plopping herself down and spooning vegetables onto her plate.

  
“And that's saying something…” Lexa muttered, knowing full well that Anya could hear her.

  
“I think we’ve had enough arguing in this house for tonight.” Gustus said, shutting the girls down before things could escalate.

  
The two nodded, Lexa sticking her tongue out at Anya when she though Gustus wasn't looking and both girls started digging into their respective plates.  
Despite only just eating, the two were exhausted, barely suppressing yawns as they finished. They were relieved and grateful as Gustus waved them away.  
“I’ll clear this up, go get ready for bed.” The two stood, leaving the kitchen before he could change his mind.

He smiled, shaking his head, as he watched them run out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The two girls disappeared into their own rooms but met again in the bathroom to brush their teeth. Neither said anything but when the left the bathroom they both paused out side the door.

  
“Hard day today.” Anya started when it became obvious that Lexa wasn't about to.

“It was.”

“You going to be okay tonight?”

Lexa was quiet for a moment before meeting Anya's gaze, a challenge in her tone. “Of course.”

“There's no need to be stubborn.” Anya said, knowing Lexa far too well.

“Who's being stubborn.” Lexa countered.

Anya turned on her heel, heading for her door and, despite her words, Lexa followed her. She crawled into the bed beside Anya who had already planted herself on the far right side. She switched off the light, pressing her cold toes against Anya's warm legs. It earned her a poke in the side but neither girl said anything and Anya didn't move her legs away. Anya knew that it had been a while since Lexa had had a bad night but she still felt better, that on the off chance something did come up, she'd know.

  
It was only eight o'clock but both girls were asleep in minutes.


	3. Appropriate Dinner Conversation

Kane arrived home late that night. Walking into the house, he left his briefcase in his office before heading to the kitchen. Clarke and Abby had just sat down to have dinner. He had been too busy to eat properly all day and the spread was enough to make his stomach groan on sight.

  
“You’re home late, long day?” Abby asked sympathetically, smiling as he placed a small kiss on her forehead.

  
“Like you wouldn't believe.”

  
Clarke waited until he had made himself up a plate before turning to him. “What happened at Polis?”

  
“Clarke, I doubt Marcus is allowed to talk about it.” Abby chastised her, shooting Marcus an apologetic look.

  
“Everyone else is talking about it, we all saw it burn from the front of the school.” Clarke was only met with another glare from her mother. “Can I at least ask if anyone was hurt?”

  
“No one was hurt.” Marcus assured her. “And your mother is right, I can't say much but I suppose you’ll find out tomorrow anyway.” He paused to take a bite of steak.Clarke on the other hand had stopped eating altogether while Abby had decided to ignore the two of them altogether and focus on her own dinner. “Principal Jaha has agreed to take in the students from Polis."

She supposed it made sense. "When?”

  
“Wednesday.”

  
There was a lull in conservation as Clarke thought over the new information. Once she was distracted, Abby attempted to start another conversation with Marcus. But before he could answer her, Clarke made it clear she wasn't done.

  
“Is it true that Polis is in Trigedakru territory. Everyone's saying it was a deliberate attack.” She thought back to what Octavia had said before.

  
“How do you know about the Trigedakru?”

  
Clarke looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “There's a gang controlling the neighborhoods practically next door to us, how could I not know about them. I get that we only moved back here two years ago but I do listen when you talk about work. Aren't they the whole reason for your task force?”

  
Marcus paused for a moment. “They're not the entire reason only apart of it. It’ll be safe, though, the department has organised extra patrols.” He spoke more to Abby who was now far more intersted in their conversation.

  
“So some of the kids, if not all of them, are part of a gang, or at least affiliated. The board of management will love that.”  
Clarke chewed on her food. Feigning nonchalance, waiting to read his reaction to her mother joining in.

  
“Hardly any of them are members, the Trigedakru usually only have adults as members.”

  
“But there are some?”

  
Marcus sighed. “It's complicated and there's no real proof but it is a possibility.”

  
“Right.”

  
“Abby…”

  
“I'm finished, thanks for dinner, mum, and for the talk, Marcus.” Clarke  had heard all she needed. She quickly stood and placed her dish in the sink.

  
She left the awkward silence that had settled over the dining room. Running up to her room Clarke grabbed her phone from where it had been charging beside her bed. She unlocked it and scanned through the messages from the group chat before cutting interuptig an argument about when one of their English assignments were due.

Clarke Griffin:  guys the kids from polis are coming to arkadia

  
Monty Green: Woah

John Murphy: that sounds safe

Raven Reyes: shut up murphy

Monty Green: when are they coming???

Clarke Griffin: markus said wednesday

Monty Green: damn

Raven Reyes: shut up murphy

John Murphy: i didnt say anything!!!!!!1

Raven Reyes: keep it that way

Clarke Griffin: chill guys

Octavia Blake: do you know how long they’re staying

Clarke Grifin: no idea

Clarke Griffin: ill talk to you guys later bc ravens right that essay is due tomorrow

Jasper Jordan: shit seriously?

Raven Reyes: shouldnt have doubted me

Jasper Jordan: dammit. im out guys

 

Clarke locked her phone, plugging it back in and heading to her desk, intending to finish her essay. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't concentrate. It was frustrating as she knew she'd have all of tomorrow to think about it. She doubted anyone would be able to talk about anything else. She finished her once finely laid out essay with a half assed summary before heading to bed.

  
Despite how late it was, Clarke couldn't sleep. Thoughts of fire, and the new sudents they'd meet the day after tomorrow, made it too hard to sleep. Eventually she did drift off, but only after an hour of tossing and turning

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first class of the day for the students at Arkadia was a complete waste of time. At least it was in Clarke's opinion. For Clarke it was English but it didn't really matter since every time the teacher turned to write on the board, the class would continue their own not so quiet conversations. She could see Mr. Pike getting frustrated and she felt bad for him. He was a nice teacher who enjoyed teaching normally, but he had been doing this long enough that he should know when a class wasn't going to be able to learn.

The long awaited announcement rang out over the intercom, ten minutes from the end of class. 

“All students and teachers are to assemble in the sports hall after this class ends, for a school assembly. Thank you.”

Mr. Pike finally sat down, deciding that it wasn’t worth trying to calm them down for the last ten minutes of class. 

“Find out anything new last night?” Octavia asked Clarke, turning and leaning back on the other girls desk.

“If I did, do you really think that I’d keep it from you?” Clarke answered, batting her eye lids at Octavia.

Octavia shrugged. “Hard to say, but my mum flipped when I told her.”

“Yeah?”

Clarke wasn’t so much surprised that Octavia's mum hadn’t wanted the kids from Polis at their school, she had expected parents to worry. What she was surprised at was that Octavia had gotten the chance to talk to her mum at all. Clarke and Octavia had been in school together for 5 years before Clarke had moved away and they had quickly become close again once she had come back. A year ago her brother, Bellamy, had left. Clarke remembered him from when they had been kids and was suprised to hear that he had traveled for college. Octavia didn't really talk about him much anymore. After he had left for college, Octavia had slept over at Clarke's for a whole week, leaving her mum a small post it on the fridge. Octavia's mum worked nights and half weeks, so when she was home she was usually sleeping. It was easier for Octavia to depend on her brother as a kid. It had been harder since he left but Clarke and Raven had taken up the role of support for Octavia that he had left behind.

“She got pretty worried, but like, angry worried. It's like she thought I was the one who invited them here.”

“Did you tell Bellamy?” Raven asked, pulling her chair closer to Clarke's.

“Not yet…last thing I need is him freaking out too. Maybe in a few days, once we find out whats actually happening.” Octavia shrugged. “On the bright side at least they newbies should liven this place up a bit.”

“Octavia.” Raven rolled her eyes.

“Well it will. Think about it, we’ll probably have easy classes all week with everyone getting used to the them being here, there'll probably be a ton of parents freaking out, I'd hate to even think about how annoying those parent association meetings will be.” Octavia looked at Clarke. "I do not envy your mum right now. And chances are that at least some of them will be hot.”

Before Raven or Clarke could answer, the bell rang.

They all grabbed their belongings, stuffing notepads into bags before following the steady stream of students who were heading for the sports hall.

The hall was quickly filling up with students. It was almost full by the time the three girls walked inside. 

They spotted their group of friends already sitting down. Monty stuck up his hand, waving them over. Harper had been out the previous day but had obviously been caught up in the hour since school started.

“Hey." She greeted them, moving over to make sure there was room for the three of them. “Thank god you’re here, I don't know what I'd do if I had to listen to jasper telling us all _again_  how he was almost shot by a group of grounders.”

“Hey! A body was found in the same alleyway that I walk through to school every day!” Jasper replied, looking around at each of them but losing hope at their unanimously unimpressed expressions.

“I believe you, buddy.” Monty finally said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“Whatever, you guys suck.” Jasper sighed, sitting back.

Clarke leaned towards Raven. "Grounders?" She asked a confused look on her face.

Raven had started school with Octavia the same year Clarke had left, but the three of them had settled comfortably after Clarke had returned. She didn't know a lot about Raven but knew she was close with Monty. The two of them worked together at Monty's parent's garage and Clarke got the idea that the girl also lived with them, but she couldn't be sure.

"Some nickname for the kids down in Polis. We're on the hill, they're on the ground." She shook her head. "I think Murphy started it."

Clarke nodded in understanding, turning to face the front as Principal Jaha began speaking.

“Good afternoon, everyone.” His voice rung out across the assembled students, silencing them.

Octavia leaned against raven, dropping her head onto the girl's shoulder. The seats in the hall weren’t the comfiest and Clarke just hoped that this would be over before the hard plastic made her butt go numb.

“For those few of you unaware, yesterday, our neighboring school, Polis, burned down. I am relieved to announce there there were no fatalities.” Jaha paused for a moment, letting the news settle. Clarke glanced over as she heard Raven let out a small breath, she couldn't tell if it was from relief or if it had just been a yawn.

“Although the student body survived, the school did not, and so I have offered, on behalf of all of Arkadia, to open our doors to them.”

Discussions broke out all across the hall.

“Called it.” Octavia said.

Raven reached over and flicked her nose. “Clarke told us all last night.”

“Ow.” Octavia rubbed her nose, sticking out her tongue at Raven as Jaha continued to talk.

“I have letters for all of your parents that you will receive in your next class, after break. These letters will outline the events that took place yesterday, and our part to play in the aftermath. Inside, some of you will also find the names of students that you have been paired with. Polis is a small school but I'm sure you will all welcome the incoming students with open arms. Thank you, you may take break early today but I am sure that when you all do return to class, that it will be with full concentration and the intention to learn.”

With that, Jaha finished, walking towards the the exit. In his absence the hall erupted in chatter, most students rushing out of the hall to take advantage of the early break but Clarke and her friends stayed back. None of them were eager to join the crush of students heading for the doors.

“Anyone else get the vibe from your parents that Arkadia shouldn't be as welcoming as Jaha is making it.” Monroe asked, slouching forwards.

“I cant wait to tell them.” Harper said sarcastically.

“I don't know why there’re freaking so much.” Miller said.

“Maybe because most of them are criminals.” Murphy pointed out.

“We don’t know that.” Monty said, shaking his head. “and it won't make a difference, Principal Jaha used to be a cop, he's not going to let anything happen.”

Clarke glanced over at Jaha, who was still talking to a group of teachers.

He and her mum had been close when she was younger, he’d been the one to introduce Abby to Kane a few years after Clarke's dad had died. Jaha used to come over for dinner once a week, but since they had moved back, she hadn’t seen much of him outside of school. Sometimes she wondered if she reminded him of Wells as much as he reminded her.

“Come on, I need to get my books sorted.” Clarke said standing up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After their extra long break, the all headed off to their classes. Clarke, Raven, Octavia, Monty and Jasper to one class, Murphy, Finn, Monroe, Harper and Miller to another. 

The five of them took their usual seats by the door. The teacher arrived a few minutes later, stack of envelopes in hand.

“Octavia, Clarke, Raven.” The teacher read out as she handed them each a brown envelope. A small handful of other students also received brown envelopes with their names on them while everyone else was given generic white ones. The envelopes weren’t sealed and the students wasted no time checking out their contents.

The teacher cleared her throat in order to gain the classes attention. “For those of you who were given brown envelopes, you have been assigned a ‘buddy’ from Polis. You will share most of your subjects with these students and we hope that you will help to make them feel welcome and at home here at Arkadia.” 

The teacher sat down at her desk, pulling out tests to correct. She had already heard from other teachers who had had classes that morning, that trying to teach the students at this point was pointless. Maybe they'd all have better look that afternoon, she though to herself.

“No fair.” Jasper whined, ignoring his own white envelope in favour of focusing on the three girls’ brown ones.

“I thought you were afraid of them.” Octavia teased. Opening her own envelope.

Raven and Clarke followed her lead. Each girl had two pieces of paper in their envelopes. One was the letter Jaha had spoken about, the other was about their new "buddies". The second sheets were blank for the most part, they listed a name and a list of subjects as well as what class the new students had been assigned to. It wasn’t much to go on. 

“Lincoln.” Octavia read out, grin already spreading across her face.

“Don’t tell me they’re all dudes.” Jasper said, not trying to hide his disappointment.

“Like you'd have a chance anyway." Octavia laughed. "Nope, raven has someone called Anya.” Octavia read the other girls sheet. 

Monty, who had moved his seat beside Raven, nudged her gently. “You okay?” He asked quietly.

She had gone unusually quiet, normally joining in with Octavia's light teasing. She nodded, shooting Monty a smile for reassurance. Monty wasn't completely convinced but knew it’d be easier to talk to her tonight, without everyone else around.

“Well these tell us jack shit.” Octavia said, putting her sheet back into the envelope. "I think this calls for some cyber stalking. Your house free after school?” She asked Clarke.

“Should be. It's Tuesday so mums working late and Marcus won't be home until seven.” Clarke thought aloud.

“Perfect.” Octavia exclaimed, turning to Raven for confirmation.

“Sounds like a plan.” She didn't sound too excited but Octavia's enthusiasm well made up for it.

Jasper sighed, resting his head on his arms, still disappointed at his lack of a brown envelope.

“You guys suck.”

The four of them ignored his moaning.

“I wish they'd included a yearbook picture.” Octavia sighed, making small tears on the edge of her envelope.

“Chill, you’ll see your mystery boy tomorrow.” Raven said, rolling her eyes. “And that's only if you don’t find him on facebook first.”

“But I wanna know nowwww.” Octavia replied, adding a whining lilt to her voice.

Classes became easier to control after that and they found out at lunch that Murphy had also been assigned a student from Polis, Emori. 

Every class after that seemed to drag on for Clarke, minutes stretching on and on. Each bell slowly bringing the day closer to the end but in every class Clarke couldn't help but take out the sheet she had been given. Looking at the name of the girl she had been assigned, wondering what she was like. Alexandria woods. Clarke guessed she'd find out soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, things should start picking up soon. Any feedback is greatly appreciated :)  
> You can find me at laraismyreligion.tumblr.com


	4. The abc's of Keeping out of Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to Lucy for editing x

Anya woke up to a stream of sunlight, higher than i should have been. She caught sight of her alarm clock. 10:16. That explained it.

 

Lexa began to stir beside her. The younger girl stretched, all elbows and knees knocking the last hopes of falling back asleep from Anya.

 

“Cut it out.” Anya grumbled, rubbing her face and rolling over to glare at Lexa.

 

Lexa abruptly stopped moving, mainly due to the fact that Anya was now half lying on top of her.

 

“Get off, I can't breathe.”

 

“Good.” Anya's smugness was short lived as Lexa managed to free her trapped arm and proceeded to push Anya off the bed.

 

The girl landed on the wooden floor, her fall cushioned by the blankets she had managed to drag with her.

 

Lexa shivered in the sudden chill air. She tried and failed to pull the blanket off Anya but Anya wouldn't budge.

 

Lexa slowly sat up, rubbing her arms as she shuffled over to the lump that was Anya, still lying on the floor.

 

“Come on, I’m starving.” she said, gently kicking the pile.

 

A muffled grunt came from the lump as it slowly rose. Refusing to shed the blanket, only Anya's face was visible as she slowly made her way out of the room.

 

Lexa allowed Anya to take the lead, despite her speed, she didn't fancy starting the morning by being taken out on the stairs when the older girl inevitably tripped.

 

When they finally made it to the kitchen, there was a note on the table.

 

“Thought you two should rest. Get some breakfast and don't stray too far. Call me if anything comes up.” Lexa read the note as Anya grabbed bowls and cereal for the two of them.

 

“Don't know why anyone would stray to far from here. All the excitement is around here these days.” Anya commented, sitting down, allowing the blankets to finally fall as she snatched the note from Lexa and re-read it.

 

Lexa poured the cereal for the both of them, ignoring Anya's mumbles as she poured some milk in her own bowl. Too much, in Anya's opinion apparently.

 

She ignored her as she ate, texting Lincoln to see if he was awake.

 

“I want to go to the school” Lexa announced between bites, laying down her phone.

 

“You sure that's the best idea?” Anya was surprised, usually she was the one to look for trouble. “It's probably crawling with police.”

 

“That's the point, I don't feel like sitting here all day and I want to see what's being done.” she explained, checking her phone.

 

“Whatever you say, Heda.” Anya teased. “I’ll text Lincoln.”

 

“Already done, he’s with Nyko. I said we’d be over in ten.” Lexa picked up her bowl, dropping it into the sink and putting the milk back in the fridge.

 

Anya rolled her eyes, speeding up her chewing. As much as she hated being rushed, she would hate not being down at the school with Lexa and Lincoln even more.

 

Lexa left Anya in the kitchen, noticing as she entered her room that her clothes from yesterday had been cleared up. She grabbed a top, jacket and jeans, getting changed quickly and pulling her shoes on as she brushed her teeth before fixing her hair. Anya managed to make it down stairs before her, smirking at her as she walked down the stairs.

 

“Someone's taking their time.” Anya teased, walking out the door. Lexa grabbed her keys as she followed her.

 

“Only because it shows when people don't.” Lexa bumped the older girl's shoulder as she walked past her. “But it's nice to see not everyone’s puts too much effort into their appearance."

 

Anya pushed her but Lexa barely missed a step, expecting it. She wouldn't admit it but seeing Lexa at ease definitely helped Anya's own nerves, she hadn't been sure if Lexa was going bounce back after the nightmare that yesterday had been. It was good to see the responsibility was not dragging her down. Not yet anyway, Anya reminded herself.

 

The neighbourhood was quiet and peaceful, most people were at work and it seemed to be too early for those who weren’t. Lexa guessed that the kids old enough for Polis were enjoying their day off as their younger siblings, who hadn't had their school burned down, still had school to go to.

 

Lexa briefly fought the twist of disgust and fear that flared up as she thought of the younger kids and what could have happened if they had been the ones targeted. She fought the urge to call Gustus and check in for any updates. She knew he’d work better undisturbed and she trusted that he’d have people looking out for the younger children while they were at school. After yesterday there would be no shortage of volunteers.

 

Nyko lived near enough and they soon caught sight of him and Lincoln in his driveway. Lincoln was helping him work on his bike, Nyko's pride and joy and Lincoln's first love, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

 

Nyko was twenty two and out of the three off them, he was closest to Lincoln. He had been here for him after his dad had died, it had been a hard time and Indra remained grateful to Nyko all these years later for what he had done. Nkyo also acted as their unofficial doctor, working ten and fourteen hour shifts as an EMT but always there when he was needed. They had a few contacts at the hospital but Nyko was different, people knew he could be trusted.

 

“We’re going to the school, or what's left of it.”

 

“Well, good morning to you too, Lexa.” Nyko smiled, rubbing his hands clean off a rag. Tossing it to Lincoln once he had finished wiping the grease from his fingers.

 

“You're welcome to join us.” Lexa offered.

 

Nyko shook his head. “Hard pass, I have a shift starting at noon and I should get ready. You three stay out of trouble, okay?”

 

“Don't we always?” Anya drawled, picking up Lincoln's phone and wallet from where they lay on his discarded jumper.

 

She turned and walked away, closely followed by Lexa. Lincoln quickly caught up to them, grabbing his wallet and shoving it into his pocket before checking his phone. Disabled for 1 minutes.

 

“Really, Anya?” he said, looking over at her, exasperated, but she just shrugged.

 

“It's not my fault you changed your passcode, cute lock screen by the way.”

 

Lexa glanced over to the screen. The picture showed the three of them, it had been Indra's birthday, Lexa and Lincoln had been fifteen while Anya lay across their laps, the ever mature 16 year old. They had all been made to dress semi-formal, Lincoln had even worn a shirt and jacket. It hadn't made much of a difference though as a few minutes after Gustus had taken the photo, the three of them had climbed itno Anya's back garden and up into her tree house. This had been back when Anya had lived beside Lexa, with her parents and younger sister. Lexa remembered how Gustus had brought them up extra cake, knowing as soon as they ran out the door, where they were going. She had been called down a moment later, Costia and her family had arrived and the girl was asking where Lexa was.

 

“It's nice.” she said absentmindedly  . the unexpected trip down memory lane had caught her off guard. She took out her phone checking her messages, knowing there was nothing to read. She noticed Anya looking over at her and so she quickly fired off a text to Gustus, telling him where they were headed.

 

As they approached the school, Lexa expected more people to be around but aside from a few officers, the street was empty.

 

With the smell of smoke and officers poking around, Lexa did not envy the people living in the surrounding houses.

 

The three stopped in front of the school, just opposite the entrance. Lexa pulled herself onto a low garden wall, while Anya leant up against the wall beside Lincoln.

 

The school had stood about a hundred meters back from the road, two stories and a slanted roof. It all lay in a smoking shell of what it had once been. At some point during the night the second floor must have collapsed because the center of the building had fallen inwards.

 

A handful of people were walking around the area with cameras, taking pictures of the scene.

 

At the sight of the cameras, Lexa fought the urge to pull up the hood of her jacket.

 

There was a squad car blocking the short driveway up to the school. Lexa could see that the grass that used to bring handfuls of daffodils in the spring had been reduced to a muddy slop. A mix of water from the hoses and the crowd of people that had gathered outside the day before had destroyed it all.

 

A car was slowly approaching and the three teens turned to watch as it pulled up behind the squad car.

 

Two men got out of the car, neither in police uniform. They were approached by an officer who spoke to them for a few minutes, gesturing to the school every so often. One of the men took notes as the officer spoke.

 

“Maybe we should leave.” Lincoln suggested.

 

“This place isn't theirs, we shouldn't have to leave because of them.” Anya said, glaring at them.

 

“You know they’re here to help.”

 

“When have they ever helped.” Anya spat.

 

As if they could sense they were being talked about, the two men looked over, the third returning to his squad car.

 

“Well, it's too late now.” Lexa finished, sitting up sraighter as they watched the two men cross the road.

 

“Good morning, I'm Detective Wallace," he introduced himself. “and this is my partner, Detective Kane.”

 

Lexa observed the two men carefully, as much as she would have preferred to keep her head down, another part of her had half expected for something like this to happen. She wondered if that was the real reason she had wanted to come down to the school.

 

“Is there any particular reason you three are out here today?” Detective Wallace asked while his partner remained silent.

 

His condescending tone struck a chord with Lexa, they were wasting their time talking to three kids when they should be doing their jobs.

 

“Well, we all of a sudden found ourselves facing a six hour gap in our day and old habits die hard.”

 

Lincoln shifted uncomfortably and Lexa wished that Anya would have taken the less openly hostile approach. Anya was already on thin ice as it was, any complaint to her parole officer could end up with her back in prison, not juvie, this time.

 

“There isn’t much else to do.” Lexa added, hoping to brush over Anya's comment.

 

“Right, so you're saying that no one old you to come down here?” Detective  Cage asked, a faux, puzzled look on his face, “You’re saying that you just had nothing better to do." His partner, Detective Kane, cleared his throat, shooting his partner a disapproving look.

 

“Were you three students at the school, were you here yesterday?”

 

The three nodded, Lexa and Lincoln both replying with a yes as Anya crossed her arms, staring the two detectives down.

 

“Would you mind if we asked you three some questions?” Detective Kane asked. “Separately, if you don't mind”

 

Lexa lowered herself off the wall. Anya stepped aside to allow her a place to land.

 

“I would have thought you’d have taken all your statements yesterday.” Anya said.

 

“We did but none of those people returned to the scene today, unlike you three. You three decided to come back.” Detective  Cage pointed out, his tone smug as though he had just caught the three of them out in a lie.

 

“It’s like we said.” Lincoln replied, “Not much else to do.”

 

“Do you enjoy having the time off, do you like school or maybe you think you'd be better off without it?”  Cage took a few steps closer to Lincoln who, to his credit, remained calm as the two girls bristled at the implication.

 

Before he could answer, Lexa's phone rang.The others looked at her as she pulled it out, checking the Caller ID. It was Gustus.

 

She quickly answered the phone before it could go to voicemail. “Hello?”

 

“Would you mind getting off the phone, miss.” Detective  Cage asked, looking annoyed.

 

“Shut up.” Anya growled at him.

 

Lexa ignored them.

 

“Lexa, are you at the school?” Gustus asked.

 

“Yes, I'm with Anya and Lincoln. There are detectives here.” She replied in Trigedasleng.

 

“I’m assuming they’re within earshot.”

 

“Right in front of me.” Lexa pointedly looked at the detectives. Kane waited calmly for her to finish while his partner Detective Wallace stood beside him, quietly seething. “Detectives Wallace and Kane.”

 

She made sure to pronounce their names as clearly as possible, enjoying the looks of concern and anger flit over their faces.

 

“We’re on our way to the school, when we get there I want you to clear out.” Lexa could hear the annoyance in Gustus’ voice but she didn't let how much it bothered her show.

 

“I told you to stay out of trouble.” Without waiting for Lexa to reply, he hung up. She was surprised by his abrupt response. She knew something other than their venturing down to the school must have caused it.

 

Lexa slid her phone back into her pocket.

 

“Sorry about that, Detectives, wrong number.” she explained calmly, returning to English.

 

Anya snorted and Lincoln looked down to try and hide his smile.

 

“You seem very keen to waste our time.” Detective Wallace challenged, anger evident in his voice.

 

“I’m not the one who's not doing my job.” Lexa countered. She knew she should pull back but they had no grounds to accuse them of anything, they were wasting everyone's time and now there was something going on with Gustus and he was probably pissed at her.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

Lexa shook her head. “You're here to investigate the school being burned down, you're wasting your time with us.”

 

Detective Wallace smirked. “The way I see it, a lot of things have been wasted on you, funding, police time, all so that you can grow up and become drug pushers, killers and thieves for your Mommies and Daddies.”

 

“Detective Wallace, that's enough.” Detective Kane said sternly, staring at his partner, looking appalled at what he had just said.

 

“No, the girl's right, we shouldn't be wasting our time with them.”

 

Lexa didn't realise she had been moving towards Detective Wallace until Lincoln put a steadying hand on her arm. “The whole department should stop wasting our time and resources with these people. We should be leaving them to kill themselves off.”

 

Detective Wallace turned, crossing the road and leaving his partner with the three of them.

 

Detective Kane looked at the three of them apologetically, “I'm sorry for my partners lack of tact.” he rubbed his face, trying to find the right words. “I assure you we will do our best to find out what happened.”

 

None of them said anything and Detective Kane was about to join his partner across the road when Gustus pulled up in front of them.

 

“In. Now.” he ordered.

 

The three of them climbed into the back of the car. Gustus sped off as soon as the door was shut.

 

Marcus was left to walk over to his partner, furious.

 

“What the hell was that about?”

 

“Relax, Marcus, the best way to cut through all the bullshit with these people is to get them riled up, that way they’ll make mistakes.” Cage explained, amused by his partners reaction. 

 

“We don't even know who was actually responsible, and I don't think isolating the community is going to help our investigation.” Marcus said, exasperated.

 

“Look, I've been doing this a lot longer than you, this is an open and shut case. They did it.”

 

“You’re saying that those kids are responsible?”

 

“Those kids, their parents, their neighbours, it doesn't matter,” Rolling his eyes at Marcus' still confused expression. He sighed, “think about it, this is the perfect opportunity for them, an excuse to target whoever they decide is responsible.” Q

Cage paused. “It also gives the Trigedakru the perfect opportunity to expand. All those kids, right? A secret army.”

 

The concerned look on his partner's face only encouraged Cage. “It's really simple when you break it down. Think of all the influential parents with kids at Arkadia, think of at the damage that could be done with the wrong person in the right place at the right time. If I'm remembering correctly, your girl's kid goes there.”

 

Marcus nodded distractedly. He was right about Clarke. Never before had he been so relieved that neither Abby nor Clarke shared his surname.

 

Suddenly something in his mind clicked. “The car, the one that came to pick up the kids we were talking to, I recognised the driver but I couldn't place it. It was Gustus.” Marcus was suprised to not have recognised him straight away. The mans picture hung on the wall back at the station. The same wall that listed dozens of crimes thought to be connected with him and the people he led.

 

“The commander himself?” Cage let out a low whistle. “Like I said, seems pretty easy once you think about it, he must have sent the kids down here himself.” Kane had wanted to reserve judgement but maybe Wallace was right.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"What's going on?" Lexa finally asked, breaking the silence in the car. She was still burning from Detective Wallace's words. How were they supposed to be safe when people like him were the ones ‘helping’.

 

“There’s a leak, someone has been talking to Azgeda.”

 

Lexa felt her stomach drop. Of all the things she had expected Gustus to say that had not been one of them. “Are you sure?” she asked, voice pitched.

 

She knew he was, he wouldn't have told them if there was any doubt in his mind.

 

They hadn’t had to deal with them since Costia...

 

Anya reached out and gave Lexa's had a small squeeze, trying to draw her back.

 

“I thought we had dealt we them, reached an understanding.” Lexa spat out through gritted teeth.

 

Indra, who sat beside Gustus in the front, looked back at them, locking eyes with Anya.

 

“They’re back, it was a bad move going to the school.” Gustus said, staring at the road in front of him, hands gripping the wheel tightly.

 

“But what's done is done.” Indra finished, sitting back.

 

“So who's the rat?” Lexa asked, finally gaining control over her voice but it’s steadiness didn't fool anyone.

 

“Indra and I will figure it out.” Gustus said as he pulled up outside the house. “Stay inside, let no one in and wait.” he instructed.

 

Lexa nodded, following Anya out of the car. The trio watched as Indra and Gustus sped off

 

“Let's get inside.” Lincoln said, quietly, placing a hand on Lexa's shoulder. The street was clear but its emptiness no longer felt peaceful. Instead, an uneasy sense of foreboding had settled over the place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are going slow, I know, but hopefully I'll have the next few chapters up faster to make up for it :)


End file.
